Motion does not mean progress...

Rowing the boat does not mean you are going in the right direction. Neither does flowing with the current. Moving because the wind blows almost certainly does not. Ok, so where are we going today? Progress. The result desired from almost every endeavor that man begins. Yes indeed. This little word epitomizes all there is to human endurance and indomitable spirit. Growth follows progress. Instantly? Not quite. It might take time to witness visible growth after progress has begun. Does the growth have ethical and moral foundations? I leave that for each to judge. Very often, we do certain things just to make some headway. "To get things moving" is a well known phrase here. Folks belonging to this school of thought believe that "walking if not running is better than sitting still". So, they advise any action that gets you going. Whether this initial action itself achieves the goal is not the question here. But, it is certainly worth asking if there exists a class of actions that merely facilitates other actions. Doing something so that you reach a stage from where the result oriented action is performed. Sort of the boosters that are used to propel the space shuttle into space. So it might well be assumed for argument's sake that such a class exists. Then the next point to ponder would be this: When do we utilize such an action? The reason for this being that it is quite possible that the wrong initial move might actually guide you into a different trajectory. And then instead of correcting the path, more often than not "patching" is done. But the supporters of such a class of actions might strongly point out that the primary purpose was achieved when you were set on the path. And there ends the role of such actions. Beyond that, what happens is not the concern. In short, the action "to get things moving" must be taken so with only that intention in mind. And not as the final strike. Hmmm....

Coming back to the main theme of the day. There are three different motifs over here. The first: An action with absolutely no goal. The second: An action which associates with every goal. The third: An action which is fully dependent on the environment for a goal. All of the three motifs basically translate into the same text. Motion does not necessarily mean progress. What needs to be done then? A rational and careful introspection of the action should clearly reveal the goal. It might not be the final one. The action should be performed with only one goal in mind (which might be a subset of/stepping stone for the final goal) . Focus is crucial. And finally, environment variables must not convolute the intention of the action. An action might be influenced by the environment, but not dictated by it. Final point. Motion can be in two directions. Forward and backward. Progress is only in one direction. Right direction. Growth is a combination. Two steps forward in the right direction and one step backwards.....